“I know, but…” I gestured toward the door. “I should get home before it gets worse.”
Hayes’s expression shifted from confusion to understanding. “You’re worried about Delaney.”
“I’m not—” I started, then sighed. “Slightly, maybe. Yes. He’s got a long, slippery driveway. And Teeny’s there. And…”
Kel and Hayes exchanged another of those looks, and then Hayes rose and clapped me on the shoulder. “Go,” he said. “We’ll catch up tomorrow.”
I said my goodbyes, but as I headed for the door, I overheard Kel muttering, “Dude, your cousin and Hot Delaney are totally gonna bone.”
“One thousand percent fuck vibes,” Hayes agreed. “And isn’t it crazy how he doesn’t even seem to see it?”
I shook my head. I needed to call Hayes tomorrow and set him right before he and the gossips could start rumors, but at the moment, I was too busy calculating how long it would take me to get home.
The cold air outside the bar made me briefly light-headed, and I sucked in a deep breath. But it wasn’t until I took an unsteady step toward the crowded parking lot that I realized it wasn’t just the cold. Those three beers on an empty stomach had hit harder than I’d realized.
“Hey!” Reed appeared beside me wearing just his sweater, despite the falling snow. “Ready to head out?”
I ran a hand through my hair, which was already damp. “Shit. I don’t want you to have to leave?—”
Reed smiled. “We’re ready to go. At least I am. Chris is tipsy and making new friends?—”
Chris appeared behind Reed and wound his arms around his husband’s waist. He was pink-cheeked and looked a little silly wrapped up in a huge coat that couldn’t possibly be his own.
“I had three beers, Brewer!” he announced proudly. Then he turned to his husband. “Oh, those ladies I was talking to weresonice. Do you think I should go back and invite them over for charcuterie?—?”
“Not tonight.” Reed grinned at his pouting husband. “Baby, I have seen what happens when you have multiple beers and talk to ladies at a bar. It’s only a matter of time before tables get flipped.” He pulled Chris under his arm. “Besides, we’re driving Brewer home.”
“Oooh.” Chris’s eyes lit up. “Is Delaney there? Do you think he might want to watch?—”
“Nope,” Reed interrupted. “I think you and I are going to have aprivateJohn Ruffian party. Just the two of us. I’m thinking Season 3, Episode 4.”
The flush on Chris’s cheeks deepened. “Oh,heck yeah,” he breathed.
The drive back to Delaney’s place was mostly quiet, except for Chris occasionally giggling in the front seat and once whispering something to Reed that I’d swear sounded like, “Remember the time you kidnapped me?” which made me wonder if I was drunk instead of just buzzing.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said when they let me out at the end of Delaney’s driveway.
“Anytime!” Chris chirped. “You can count on us.”
As I trudged up the path to the front porch, snow was coming down heavier, and a cold wind was blowing off the lake. The house was dark except for a soft, firelight glow coming from the living room windows. I stamped my boots quietly and let myself in.
I wanted to check that the house was alright, I told myself, but didn’t want to disturb Delaney if he’d gone to bed early or locked himself in his office.
But the moment I closed the door behind me, I heard Delaney’s voice, slightly slurred and softer than usual, coming from the living room.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he was saying. “But I won’t tell Brewer if you don’t.”
I froze, my hand still on the doorknob.
Delaney wasn’t alone? Was it… was it fuckingJasper? This was unlikely since he’d been back at the bar, cuddled up to his boyfriend, but the beer in my system made it hard to think clearly.
“Hey. I don’t recall giving you permission to touch that.” Delaney’s tone was lower and more intimate—more unguarded—than I’d ever heard it. “But, God, you’ve got pretty eyes, don’t you?”
Heat flooded my body, creeping up my neck, tightening in my gut. Who the hell was in there with him?
“You’re actually kind of beautiful. Terrifyingly beautiful,” Delaney continued, his voice dropping even lower.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Delaney had someone in there.
